Izmir Development Agency (İZKA), which has determined sustainable development as a target in all analyzes, reports and studies, especially the regional plan, which it has prepared since the day it was founded as the first development agency of Turkey, million TL Green and Blue Transformation Program EGİAD shared it with the business world. In order to reduce the environmental pressure faced by İzmir, to increase the competitiveness of the region, and to internalize an approach that takes into account future generations in the use of natural resources, by entrepreneurs and producers, "sustainable production techniques" and "indigenization of sustainable production methods and equipment", and about the Blue Transformation Program EGİADThe guest of the meeting, where evaluations were made to İZKA, was Sinem Toktay, Head of Innovation and Entrepreneurship Policies Unit.
The moderator of the meeting, which was held online via Zoom, was Prof. Dr. Fatih Dalkılıç delivered the opening speech. EGİAD Alp Avni Yelkenbiçer, Chairman of the Board of Directors.
Blue Economy Our Future
Yelkenbiçer, emphasizing that they care about the green agreement and climate crisis in the context of sustainability as the theme of the period, said, "We are carrying out a very important content in order to move from theory to practice and take concrete steps personally, with a webinar that includes serious suggestions that offer us both a road map and financial support. There is no green without blue. In order to be environmentally friendly, first of all, the blue, that is, the water must be clean. If the water is not clean; The world cannot be clean. It came to the fore while struggling with the mucilage problem, but we seem to have forgotten it now, whereas the EU's Environment Commissioner recently stated this clearly: Green transformation is not possible without the blue economy. Transition to a more sustainable, green economy can only happen with the support of the blue economy. In this respect, I find the name and content of the İZKA program very important. When it comes to the blue economy, we must understand the protection of the seas and their habitats. Of course, this includes making fishing sustainable, that is, preventing wrong and overfishing. However, switching to renewable, clean energy to minimize water pollution is also within the scope of the blue economy. In other words, to produce energy by using the energy of the sea and the oceans. The EU will get a very serious part of its energy needs from water very soon because Europe was already making a rapid transition to a green economy with the Green Agreement it signed at the end of 2019. Now, by further strengthening the blue economy, it will obviously take the transformation to another dimension.”
Green transformation is important in macroeconomic targets
Reminding that green transformation is given great importance in macroeconomic targets, Yelkenbiçer said, “Policy and measures related to green transformation were included in the macroeconomic targets of the 3-2022 Medium-Term Programme, which covers the 2024-year strategies of the Turkish economy and was shared with the public in September. The focus was on supporting the technological developments required for green transformation, promoting green Organized Industrial Zones (OIZ) and disseminating zero waste practices. In line with all these, we, as the business world, support the İZKA program until the end. I wish EGİAD There will be applications from its members to the program and we can make announcements at events that share these projects in the near future.”
Sinem Toktay, Head of İZKA Innovation and Entrepreneurship Policies Unit, started her presentation by giving detailed information about İzmir's characteristics and structural situation. Expressing that they will continue to support companies from Izmir seeking support through various mechanisms in the coming periods, Toktay explained the goal of the "Green and Blue Transformation Program" as follows: "Reducing the environmental pressure faced by the Izmir Region, increasing the economic resilience in the region and, in this direction, natural To implement pioneering, original and exemplary projects in the fields of Sustainable Production Techniques and Localization of Sustainable Production Methods and Equipment in order to internalize an approach that also considers future generations in the use of resources by entrepreneurs and producers.” The processes of the project, which entrepreneurs and producers can apply, were explained in detail.
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